South Korean President to Make Official State Visit to US
US President Joe Biden will receive his counterpart, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who will pay an official state visit on April 26.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday that President Yoon’s visit would celebrate the 70th anniversary of the security alliance between the US and South Korea. The alliance was formed after the three-year Korean War ended in a 1953 armistice, which left the Korean Peninsula divided between Communist-ruled North Korea and democratically-ruled South Korea.
The trip is part of President Biden’s efforts to build and maintain relationships with regional partners as a way to offset China’s growing economic and military presence, as well as North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs that are continuing despite the many sanctions imposed by the United Nations.
Yoon’s visit will be the first official state visit by a South Korean leader since 2011, when then-president Barack Obama received Lee Myung-bak. It will also be the second state visit Biden has received, after he received French President Emmanuel Macron last December. [uh/ab]
